Safety screen for oven windows

ABSTRACT

A decorative safety screen for use with a window unit in an oven door comprises a flat sheet of perforated flexible material removably mounted in spaced parallel relation in front of the outer one of the two glass panels of the window unit.

[ 51 May 23,1972

United States Patent Mills [56] References Cited UNTTEDSTATES PATENTS 1,604,811 10/1926 Curry et [54] SAFETY SCREEN FOR OVEN WINDOWS [72] Inventor: Vernon 1. Mills, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. 126/200 3,577,973 5/1971 Katona [73] Assignee: Mills Products, Inc., Farmlngton, Mich.

[22] Filed: Mar. 18, 1971 Primary ExaminerCarro1l B. Dority, Jr.

AttomeyWhittemore, Hulbert & Belknap [21] App]. No.:

ABSTRACT front of [58] Field of 3 Claiim, 4 Drawing Figures SAFETY SCREEN FOR OVEN WINDOWS A window unit for oven doors generally comprises a pair of spaced parallel glass panels clamped against a spacer by a clamping frame which surrounds the peripheral edges of the glass panels. In a preferred embodiment of the invention a trim ring is clamped by the clamping frame against the outer glass panel and has a series of slots therein. The safety screen has corresponding projections adapted to be inserted into the slots in the trim ring to removably secure the screen in spaced relation in front of the outer glass to reduce surface temperatures. In a modified form of the invention the screen is removably mounted on the inwardly turned flange which defines the window opening in the outer oven door panel.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a window unit and the safety screen adapted for use therein;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the window unit and screen of FIG. 1, showing the window unit mounted within the window opening in an oven door;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of an oven door having a window opening therein and adapted to have the safety screen of-FIG. I mounted therein; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a window unit and the safety screen of FIG. 1 mounted in the oven door shown in FIG. 3.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is disclosed a window unit indicated generally at and which comprises a pair of spaced glass panels 12 and 14 separated by a continuous channel-shaped spacer 16. A clamping frame 18 comprises a channel-shaped member which extends around the peripheral edges of the glass panels 12 and 14 and the spacer l6 and clamps the glass panels against the spacer 16. The clamping member 18 may have its side edges provided with reversely bent portions 20 for securing a liner 22 which may be made of asbestos or other suitable material to the clamping frame, and which liner 22 is engaged by the peripheral edges of the glass panels 12 and 14.

A continuous trim strip 24 is clamped against the outer surface of the outer glass panel 12 by the clamping frame 18. A similar trim ring 26 may be clamped against the inner surface of the inner glass panel 14 and is adapted to carry a sealing member 28 of asbestos or other suitable material.

As shown in FIG. 2, the oven door in which the window unit 10 is mounted includes an outer door panel 30 having an inwardly turned flange 32 which is adapted to project into the space between the outwardly curved portion 34 of the trim ring 24 and the portion 20 of the clamping frame 18. The inner door panel 36 has an inwardly turned flange 38 which is adapted to engage the sealing member 28. The window unit is secured to the oven door in any conventional manner.

The outwardly curved portion 34 of the trim ring 24 is provided with a series of slots 40 around its entire periphery. A safety screen 42 comprises a flat sheet of material having perforations 44 throughout its entire area except for the marginal portions thereof. The screen 42 may be made of metal or plastic and has a series of integral locking projections 46 extending from its marginal edges and which projections 46 correspond to the slots 40 in the trim ring 24. The screen 42 may be mounted on the window unit 10 by inserting the tabs 46 into the slots 40, and the screen 42 or the trim ring 24 or both should have sufficient flexibility to allow the tabs 46 to snap into place in the slots 40.

The screen 42 not only is decorative in that it may be made in a variety of colors or patterns of openings therein, but also substantially reduces the surface temperatures of the window unit. Air can, of course, circulate freely through the screen and through the space between the screen and the outer glass panel 12 so that the outer surface of the screen 42 will be at a substantially lower temperature than the outer surface of the glass panel 12 which is exposed in conventional window units. The screen may easily be removed by flexing the same slightly to withdraw the projections 46 from the slots 40 to allow cleaning of the outer glass panel 12.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the window unit comprises outer and inner lass panels 50 and 52 separated by a spacer 54 and clampe against the spacer by a clamping frame 18 of the same construction as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. In this modification the oven door indicated generally at 56 includes an outer door panel 58 and an inner door panel 60 which have inwardly turned flanges 62 and 64 which define the window opening within which the window unit is secured in any conventional manner. The flange 62 on the outer door panel 58 is provided with a series of slots 66, and the screen 42 is adapted to be mounted in spaced parallel relation to the outer glass panel 50 by inserting the projections 46 into the slots 66 in the flange 62. As in FIGS. 1 and 2, the screen of this modification is sufficiently flexible to allow the projections 46 to be snapped into the slots 66 and to be removed therefrom for cleaning the glass 50. It will be apparent that the safety screen provided by this invention may be used with window units of somewhat different constructions than those illustrated herein.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A window unit for oven doors comprising a pair of glass panels, a continuous spacer between said panels, a clamping frame surrounding the peripheral edges of said panels for clamping said panels against said spacer in spaced, parallel relation, a continuous trim strip clamped between the outer surface of the outer one of said glass panels and said clamping frame, said trim strip having an outwardly curved portion spaced from said surface of said outer glass panel, and a safety screen comprising a flat sheet having openings therein throughout its entire area except for the marginal portions thereof, said curved portion of said trim strip having a series of spaced slots therein around its entire periphery, said screen having integral locking tabs projecting from its marginal portions and adapted to be inserted into said slots for removably securing said screen to said trim strip in spaced relation to said outer glass panel.

2. In an oven door having a window unit therein comprising a pair of glass panels, a continuous spacer between said panels, and a clamping frame surrounding the peripheral edges of said panels for clamping said panels against said spacer in spaced, parallel relation, the improvement comprising a safety screen comprising a flat sheet having openings therein throughout its entire area except for the marginal portions thereof, means defining a series of spaced slots extending around the entire periphery of said window unit in spaced relation to the outer glass panel, said screen having integral locking tabs projecting from its marginal portions and adapted to be inserted into said slots for removably securing said screen in spaced relation to said outer glass panel.

3. An oven door according to claim 2 in which the door includes an outer door panel having an inwardly directed flange defining the window opening therein, said slots being located in said flange. 

1. A window unit for oven doors comprising a pair of glass panels, a continuous spacer between said panels, a clamping frame surrounding the peripheral edges of said panels for clamping said panels against said spacer in spaced, parallel relation, a continuous trim strip clamped between the outer surface of the outer one of said glass panels and said clamping frame, said trim strip having an outwardly curved portion spaced from said surface of said outer glass panel, and a safety screen comprising a flat sheet having openings therein throughout its entire area except for the marginal portions thereof, said curved portion of said trim strip having a series of spaced slots therein around its entire periphery, said screen having integral locking tabs projecting from its marginal portions and adapted to be inserted into said slots for removably securing said screen to said trim strip in spaced relation to said outer glass panel.
 2. In an oven door having a window unit therein comprising a pair of glass panels, a continuous spacer between said panels, and a clamping frame surrounding the peripheral edges of said panels for clamping said panels against said spacer in spaced, parallel relation, the improvement comprising a safety screen comprising a flat sheet having openings therein throughout its entire area except for the marginal portions thereof, means defining a series of spaced slots extending around the entire periphery of said window unit in spaced relation to the outer glass panel, said screen having integral locking tabs projecting from its marginal portions and adapted to be inserted into said slots for removably securing said screen in spaced relation to said outer glass panel.
 3. An oven door according to claim 2 in which the door includes an outer door panel having an inwardly directed flange defining the window opening therein, said slots being located in said flange. 